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"That makes things much easier." Anthony breathed a sigh of relief, and then told Lynn about his plan for the magic kingdom.
To put it simply, it is to secretly support the second prince Hattar to take the throne, instigate the royal family and some nobles to confront the Church, allow wizards to have a home in this country, and create a magical world that controls this kingdom in secret.
But after knowing the existence of the wizard land and the [Society of Mysticism], Anthony's appetite has undoubtedly grown a lot. Perhaps they can go a step further and cooperate with the royal family and some nobles to completely eradicate the influence of the local church and build a country that truly belongs to wizards!
However, if this happens, they will then have to face the attacks from the Holy See and the Secas Empire, which is not something that wizards from a single school can contend with, so Anthony must confirm the attitude of the Wizarding Land and the [Society of Mysticism].
"Then after your magic kingdom is built, who will be the real rulers of this kingdom, the wizards or the nobles..." Lynn asked suddenly after listening to Anthony's story.
"Of course..." Anthony wanted to say it was a wizard, but he knew very well that the power of the nobles was deeply rooted in the kingdom and could not be easily shaken.
"Wizards and the royal family can work together to manage the nobles, and then let the nobles manage the civilians!" Anthony said thoughtfully, this is the most reasonable move.
"If this goes on, there will be problems sooner or later. Since those nobles are tired of being trampled over by the Church, they will never tolerate wizards doing the same thing." Lin En said with certainty.
"Are you planning to maintain the status quo?" Anthony frowned.
In fact, he had never thought about gaining control of each territory before. As long as the Kingdom of Hadratha allowed the existence of wizards and allowed them to study magic openly without having to hide, it would be a great victory in his opinion!
In this way, there would be no conflicts between the nobles and wizards.
"No." Lynn shook her head. "Your plan for the Magic Kingdom is good, but it's too low-level!"
Anthony paused for a moment, not quite understanding what the other party meant.
"In my opinion, the Kingdom of Hadrata does not need nobles, let alone a king!" Lin En said solemnly.
The most taboo thing about reform is that it is not thorough, leaving behind a large number of old interest groups, which become maggots that disintegrate the system from within, not to mention that the contradictions between them and the nobles are sharp and unavoidable.
To use the simplest analogy, if most of the kingdom's subjects entered the factory and obeyed his orders, then where was the rights and dignity of the nobles?
So it is only a matter of time before conflicts break out...
Chapter 249 You underestimate the power and anger of the people
No need for nobles, let alone a king?
Anthony was amazed at Lynn's creative ideas.
"There are no so-called nobles or kings in the wizarding land. Everything is in charge of the Wizarding Council." Lin En explained.
"A kingdom belonging exclusively to wizards..." Anthony murmured softly. This was indeed an exciting proposal.
"But if we do that, won't we be going against everyone in the entire kingdom?" Anthony asked hesitantly. Isn't this too big of a deal?
The power of the nobles is deeply rooted in the Kingdom of Hadrata, not to mention that they also need to deal with the power of the church.
"The nobility and the royal family cannot represent the entire kingdom!" Lin En sneered. "Don't forget, we have another force we can support - the largest number of people in the kingdom are the workers in the mines!"
"You mean those slaves?" Anthony couldn't help but frowned. "I don't think these people can cause any trouble."
"You underestimate their strength and anger. These miners suffer from oppression and inhumane treatment on a daily basis. They are like a powder keg that can explode at any time. If used well, it can be enough to subvert the entire kingdom!" Lin En vowed.
He also knew why Anthony was so pessimistic about the miners, because in this world, even if ordinary people gathered together, it would be difficult for them to resist the clergy who possessed extraordinary powers.
Often after a few spells, the poor people who had formed a makeshift group and were armed with farm tools and mining tools would scatter and flee.
But these talents represent the majority of the kingdom; they just lack a leader and the courage and strength to resist.
Of course, Lin En had no plans to take action against those nobles so quickly. At least these people could still be used before the church's power was completely eradicated.
After Lynn's continuous explanation, Anthony quickly understood what he meant.
First, use the power of the royal family and the nobility to deal with the Holy See, and finally wipe out all these people to create a country that belongs exclusively to wizards.
"So what should we do now?" Anthony asked.
"Wait! Wait for the right opportunity!" Lin En said. He had asked Lord to send people to infiltrate several mines in the Kingdom of Hadrata. He believed that it would not be long before results could be seen.
……
The Barony of Elvis is located in a town facing the sea on the east side of the kingdom. Although the land here is barren and the environment is harsh, it has extremely rich iron ore resources.
What makes the Baron even happier is that recently some people in the royal capital have been purchasing large quantities of various minerals, causing the prices to rise further.
Rumor has it that this may be related to the dispute over the royal succession.
To Baron Elvis, who was greedy for pleasure and had no ambition, it didn't matter which prince ascended the throne. He only cared whether he could take advantage of this rare opportunity to make a fortune and make up for the finances that were increasingly depleted due to his extravagant lifestyle.
The task of increasing production naturally fell on Rupert, the supervisor.
Rupert lived up to the Baron's expectations, and the amount of iron ore shipped to the capital increased almost every week.
However, things were not always so smooth. Rupert was very disappointed to find that the hardworking miners had actually learned to be lazy in recent days. As long as he was not paying attention, some of them would curl up in the corner and sleep in the darkness of the mine...
How could Rupert not be angry? If the Baron was dissatisfied with the output of the ore and blamed him, it would be no joke.
"Get up, everyone, get up!" Rupert swung the whip in his hand vigorously, hitting a ragged middle-aged man who was hiding in the mine.
"Lord Rupert, please spare me, I'm too hungry and I have no strength left..." The man rolled on the ground as he was whipped, shouting continuously.
"You useless piece of shit! Everyone else is working hard to mine the ore, but you're the only one who has no strength?" Rupert increased the strength in his hands a little more, and with one blow he tore the man's chest apart. He then made a fatal move, intending to beat the man to death on the spot as a deterrent, so that the other miners would remember this lesson!
This is what happens when you try to be lazy!
The sound of the whip breaking through the air and the man's wailing were intertwined. The miners present were all trembling with fear. They didn't even dare to stop what they were doing, let alone speak up for the man, for fear that the whip would hit them the next moment!
"Enough, stop fighting..." A voice suddenly sounded in the crowd.
Rupert turned his head with a grim expression, wanting to see who dared to challenge his authority.
The person who stood up was a young man in his twenties. He was wearing a coarse linen shirt full of holes and had a dirty face. As he had only been eating black bread and wheat leaves for a long time, he was very thin, as if he could be blown down by a gust of wind. However, the stubbornness in his eyes was unusually strong.
"Redl, don't think that I won't kill you just because you have some knowledge of herbs and can heal the injuries of these lowly miners... You'd better recognize your identity!" Rupert said in a fierce tone, and then swung his whip, directly hitting the other person in the face.
The young man named Redel had no time to dodge, let alone dare to dodge. He took the whip head-on and was knocked to the ground. A bloody mark appeared on his right cheek and an intense pain suddenly surged into his heart.
But Redel still endured the pain, crawled up from the ground, and begged for mercy in a low voice.
"Lord Rupert, more than a dozen people died in the mine accident last week. If Uncle Ham dies too, the output of iron ore this week will probably be even less. Please, spare him!"
Rupert hesitated for a moment. He didn't care about the life or death of a miner. But as the other party said, before the next batch of miners arrived, every time a person died, the output of ore would decrease.
The surrounding miners also put down their tools and watched the situation on the field silently. When Redel was whipped by Rupert, some people even wanted to stand up and speak for him, but they were finally stopped.
Unlike Ham, Redl is a very important person in this mine.
These miners worked day and night in the mines to mine ore, so injuries were inevitable. However, the stingy Rupert would not hire doctors for them. Many of them barely managed to save their lives thanks to Redel's half-baked medical skills.
Most people remembered this favor in their hearts, so after Redl was whipped, many miners spontaneously put down their tools, which was a silent protest...
Chapter 250: Professional Rebel Redel
Rupert soon noticed the actions of these miners. His expression suddenly became gloomy. He swung the whip at one of them and scolded him harshly.
"What are you looking at? Get back to work!"
The watching miners hesitated for a moment, then picked up their pickaxes again, carried the stones on their shoulders, and continued their work.
Rupert then turned his gaze back and looked at Redel viciously. If the other party did not have some medical skills and could save the Baron some money, such a troublemaker would have been killed by him long ago.
But after a little thought, Rupert quickly came up with an idea and a playful smile appeared on his face.
"You can ask me to spare him, but the ore output this week must be increased by another 10%!"
"You choose!" Rupert said with a grim smile.
Redel gritted his teeth, extremely angry, but Ham was seriously injured, with his body covered with wounds. If he didn't receive treatment, he might not be able to hold on, so he could only nod in agreement.
“By the way, you guys will have to make up for his work today, otherwise you won’t be able to have dinner later!” Rupert said loudly to ensure that every miner present could hear him.
The miners who had originally stood on Redel's side couldn't help but complain in their hearts, and many of them even secretly blamed Redel for meddling in their affairs.
The task that Rupert had assigned to them before was already extremely heavy, and increasing the output by 10% would simply be the end of them!
Redel didn't dare to look at the eyes of the crowd. He took out some herbs from his pocket and simply treated Ham's injuries. The rest was up to fate. Then Redel picked up the pickaxe without any hesitation and worked harder than anyone else.
There were thousands of miners in this mining area. Although Ham was missing, with Redel leading the way, everyone worked hard to have dinner.
Rupert didn't dare to let these people starve for a whole night because of such a small matter. If it delayed tomorrow's ore mining work, he would be the one to be blamed.
After a busy day, most of the miners received their dinner, a piece of black bread and soup made from wheat leaves.
There was no nutrition at all and it was even hard to swallow, but every miner ate it very quickly. The heavy physical work made them unable to care about anything else and they just wanted to stuff food into their stomachs. Anything edible was a rare delicacy in their eyes.
However, Rupert was very stingy. The little food he gave was not enough to fill their stomachs. It was just enough to keep them from starving to death. Some hungry miners even dug up grass roots on the ground.
Ham, who had been lazy just now, naturally did not get any food. Redel, who couldn't bear it, had to share his share. When he first came to this mine, Ham had taken care of him, so Redel naturally couldn't just leave it alone.
The shredded wheat leaves mixed with the dark soup slowly poured into Ham's mouth, restoring some strength to the seriously injured man. However, when faced with the black bread handed over by Redel, he shook his head and refused.
"I'll just eat this." Redel opened his bag, which was filled with unknown herbs. "This is Suzuki grass, which tastes much better than hard-to-eat black bread."
Ham then reached out and took the small piece of black bread and began to eat it voraciously. If he didn't eat more, he might not survive the night.
While watching Ham eat, Redel stuffed the Suzuki grass in the bag into his mouth. The leaves of this grass were very bitter, and he was not sure whether it was edible or not. However, since it could heal external injuries, it must be non-toxic. In any case, it was better than starving.
Ham quickly stuffed all the black bread into his mouth, licked the crumbs that fell on his hands, and then, with trembling right hand, he grasped the wooden holy light mark hanging in front of his chest and began to pray devoutly, telling the great Lord of the Stars and the Goddess of the Moon [Ella] about his sins and sufferings, and begging her to bless him to survive the night.
"Uncle Ham, does prayer really work?" Redel couldn't help but ask.
Throughout the mine, there are many miners who believe in the goddess Ella, but many devout believers also died in the last mining accident, which makes Redel feel extremely confused.
If that goddess really exists and is as holy and merciful as people say, then why doesn't she protect her believers?
"It will be useful, it will be useful!" Ham said in a dreamlike voice. "This is all a test from the great Lord for you and me. The sufferings we endure in this life will elevate our souls and return to the Lord's kingdom after death."
"Otherwise, after death, I will fall into the boundless hell, and be perishable in the flames and cooking in hot oil forever..." Ham said in fear. He didn't know if the suffering he had endured was enough, and he didn't know if his piety could move the great goddess [Ella]. But survival is an instinct, and praying is the only thing he can do.
For these slaves who have lost their homes due to war and famine, been captured in mines and have no future, they can only hope to enter the kingdom of God after death and enjoy eternal bliss.
Redel looked bewildered. He had heard similar remarks more than once, but he became more and more confused.
However, the guards of the mine did not give them a chance to talk in detail. They waved their whips and drove the miners to go to bed quickly. It was forbidden to talk to each other in the middle of the night, and they only had five hours of rest time.
Redel had no choice but to suppress all his doubts in his heart and lay down on the bed of grass leaves. The fatigue brought by a day of hard work in mining ore soon made him fall into a deep sleep.
About half an hour later, a guard holding a torch, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, put an exquisite ring on Redel's hand.
At the same time, in the dean's office at Iyeta Harbor, Lin En also received Redel's message at the same time.